Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Now that the Prime Minister has accepted personal responsibility for the home insulation scandal, can he tell us by what date the inspections of the 48,000 homes insulated with foil, and potentially electrified as a result of his failed Home Insulation Program, will be completed?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. In answering his question, I will begin by adding to an earlier answer which, I think, was asked by the member for Pearce concerning inquiries from the general public. The advice I have just been provided with by Centrelink, via the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, is that up to 2 pm today, 24 February, there have been 568 calls from the public with six calls abandoned and an average speed of answer of 14 seconds. We will seek to update members with further data on that. For the further information of those opposite, on the question of calls from employees, the number of calls to 2.30 pm was 3,124, with 68 calls abandoned and an average speed of answer of 76 seconds. As the minister has already advised me, we will seek to improve that in the manner I stated earlier today in response to the question from the member for Pearce.

The first part of my answer, just then, went to the public’s legitimate concern about ceiling insulation. I also draw the honourable member’s attention to the arrangements which the government has put in place. Let me just go through them. Firstly, the government has said that, for houses which have had insulation installed under the Home Insulation Program, we are prepared to check as many as necessary. The government will expand its current targeted risk based audit and inspection program to 15 per cent of homes with nonfoil insulation installed under the Home Insulation Program.

Secondly, I say to the honourable member that, when it comes to the execution of those inspections, the arrangements are along the following lines. If households have had insulation installed under the Home Insulation Program and they have concerns and their original installer has qualified for reregistration under the program, in the first instance it will be recommended that that installer check that work. If, however, the consumer or the householder objects to that then of course the government would step in and provide an inspection by another party, not that original installer. That is the second point I make in response to the honourable member’s question.

The third point is that when it comes to the reregistration of installers, all installers, in order to participate in this program, will be required to reregister. They will need to show evidence of meeting the training and skills requirements stipulated by the minister as well as to provide certified quality assurance and occupational health and safety plans.

The other thing I would say in response to the honourable member’s question relates to the industry as it existed before. Many concerns have been raised about the relative connection between foil insulation, in particular, and household safety and, more broadly, between insulation and household safety. Prior to the implementation of this program—this is for the information of honourable members—I am advised that the average number of annual installations in the retrofitted insulation industry was between 65,000 and 75,000 a year. I am further advised that, under those circumstances, in the year 2008 there were some 83 fires in three states—New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. That was prior to the implementation of this program. I draw the honourable member’s attention to the data provided by the minister earlier this week. With more than one million households being currently installed, 87 fires have been linked to the installation of insulation under the Home Insulation Program. Those are the facts as I have been advised and as have been presented. We will therefore continue with the implementation of the inspection regime which the honourable Leader of the Opposition has asked me to detail.